What is the best video format?

Black Panther · Feb 16, 2008

I don't really mind download times or size of the video. I want to know the type of file which gives the best picture quality.

When I download video you know you get a choice to download either mpeg, avi, etc etc...) since now I've always chose avi because I am sure that I can play them on my pc since I've played them before.

I have the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack installed. Would that be able to play all video formats?
Is avi the best quality?
If not, which one would be the best quality and which decoder would I be needing for it?

Thanks! :respect:

Grings · Feb 16, 2008

h.264 is a good one to look for, its the newer codec used for hd and such, though many people upload files using standard res in it, however its better than other avi codecs at any given bitrate, i've found 220mb or so h.264 files around the same quality as 350mb ones using regular avi, and 350mb h.264 files (45min tv shows recorded from hdtv) at least as good as dvd quality (they look better on my monitor, and as good as dvd on my tv)

As for the K-Lite pack yes, it should play everything, some people swear by cccp (combined community codec package, not commies) but i have k-lite on one computer and cccp on another, and really cant say which is better, they both work fine for everything i've tried

Wile E · Feb 17, 2008

Black Panther said:
I don't really mind download times or size of the video. I want to know the type of file which gives the best picture quality.

When I download video you know you get a choice to download either mpeg, avi, etc etc...) since now I've always chose avi because I am sure that I can play them on my pc since I've played them before.

I have the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack installed. Would that be able to play all video formats?
Is avi the best quality?
If not, which one would be the best quality and which decoder would I be needing for it?

Thanks!

.avi isn't actually a codec. It's just a container. They can be made with many different codecs. divx/xvid, mpg, etc., etc.

The best format is generally H.264. But you can still get crappy H.264 movies if they over-compressed it or used improper settings. I personally go for H.264 first, then Xvid second. You'll find that most H.264 encodes are in .mkv containers. Sometimes you'll see them in .mp4 containers as well. Xvid usually comes in .avi, but sometimes in .mkv and .ogm as well. There are other containers too, but those are the most common.

francis511 · Feb 17, 2008

Cccp crashes less often than k-lite. When you ask which one, what choices do you have ? Can you download video quality i.e. VOB etc. ?

Black Panther · Feb 17, 2008

But when downloading from for example pirate bay, how can I know if an avi film is H.264 or not?

Deleted member 3 · Feb 17, 2008

If size doesn't matter just get uncompressed data.

ghost101 · Feb 17, 2008

h264/x264

Most torrent releases tend to be x264 in an mkv container.

I also dont like codec packs. I prefer to pick individual codecs myself.

Xvid for divx/xvid videos
CoreAVC for all h264/x264 video
Matroska Splitter for mkv container support.

[I.R.A]_FBi · Feb 17, 2008

how do i get my files to h.264?

ghost101 · Feb 17, 2008

[I.R.A]_FBi said:
how do i get my files to h.264?

There are free opensource software out there, but they are difficult to use for novices.

The easiest retail software include quicktime/nero/mainconcept and others.

Use this for all video encoding guides

http://www.videohelp.com/

Also the forums here http://www.doom9.org/ are the best on the internet for video encoding.

AphexDreamer · Feb 17, 2008

THis is the absolulte best Video Format to date... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_High_Definition_Video

HookeyStreet · Feb 17, 2008

My favourite atm is x264/mkv files (when taken from 'genuine' HD or Bluray sources).

System Name	Black Panther
Processor	i9 9900k
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling	NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage	Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s)	32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case	NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s)	Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse	Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard	Motospeed
Software	Windows 10

Processor	R7 5800x3D
Motherboard	MSI x570 Tomahawk
Cooling	XSPC Raystorm Edge,EK QS P420M,EK D5pwm Revo Res
Memory	32gb Corsair Vengeance RT 3600 cl16
Video Card(s)	Zotac 3070ti Amp Extreme
Storage	Samsung 980pro 1tb x2
Display(s)	MSI MPG321QRF QD
Case	Corsair 7000D
Power Supply	EVGA 1000 P2
Mouse	G900
Keyboard	Corsair k60 RGB PRO
Software	Win 11

System Name	The ClusterF**k
Processor	980X @ 4Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 BIOS F12
Cooling	MCR-320, DDC-1 pump w/Bitspower res top (1/2" fittings), Koolance CPU-360
Memory	3x2GB Mushkin Redlines 1600Mhz 6-8-6-24 1T
Video Card(s)	Evga GTX 580
Storage	Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, 2xSeagate 320GB RAID0; 2xSeagate 3TB; 2xSamsung 2TB; Samsung 1.5TB
Display(s)	HP LP2475w 24" 1920x1200 IPS
Case	Technofront Bench Station
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi Forte into Onkyo SR606 and Polk TSi200's + RM6750
Power Supply	ENERMAX Galaxy EVO EGX1250EWT 1250W
Software	Win7 Ultimate N x64, OSX 10.8.4

Processor	Core I5 4440 / 4430
Motherboard	Asus z87-k / Gigabyte ga h97- d3h
Cooling	Arctic freezer / Generic
Memory	8 gb Mushkin / Various
Video Card(s)	Radeon 7850 cf / Gtx 690
Storage	Samsung 850 EVO 250 gb / 2x1 terabyte hdds Wd 256 gb nvme
Display(s)	Technika 32" / Asus 24` ips
Case	Corsair
Audio Device(s)	X-fi Titanium
Power Supply	Corsair 850 w
Software	Windows 10

System Name	Black Panther
Processor	i9 9900k
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling	NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage	Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s)	32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case	NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s)	Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse	Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard	Motospeed
Software	Windows 10

What is the best video format?

Black Panther

Grings

Wile E

Power User

francis511

Black Panther

Deleted member 3

ghost101

[I.R.A]_FBi

ghost101

AphexDreamer

HookeyStreet

Eat, sleep, game!

Processor	C2Q6600 @ 1.6 GHz
Motherboard	Anus PQ5
Cooling	ACFPro
Memory	GEiL2 x 1 GB PC2 6400
Video Card(s)	MSi 4830 (RIP)
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB Perpendicular Recording
Display(s)	Dell 17'
Case	El Cheepo
Audio Device(s)	7.1 Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair TX750
Software	MCE2K5

System Name	Unknown
Processor	AMD Bulldozer FX8320 @ 4.4Ghz
Motherboard	Asus Crosshair V
Cooling	XSPC Raystorm 750 EX240 for CPU
Memory	8 GB CORSAIR Vengeance Red DDR3 RAM 1922mhz (10-11-9-27)
Video Card(s)	XFX R9 290
Storage	Samsung SSD 254GB and Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
Display(s)	AOC 23" @ 1920x1080 + Asus 27" 1440p
Case	HAF X
Audio Device(s)	X Fi Titanium 5.1 Surround Sound
Power Supply	750 Watt PP&C Silencer Black
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit